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Fantômas
Fantômas is a highly elusive criminal mastermind and one of the earliest costumed villains. He was tracked by his great nemesis, Inspector Juve, but each time Juve thought he had the crime master, Fantômas managed to slip away. He was born in 1867, and presumed dead in 1912. Early Life Fantômas was born in 1867, and was actually the twin brother of his arch-nemesis, Inspector Juve. It is established that around c. 1892, the man who later became Fantômas called himself Archduke Juan North and operated in the German Principality of Heisse-Weimar. There he fathered a child, Vladimir, with an unidentified noblewoman. In circumstances unrevealed, he was arrested and sent to prison. Criminal Career In 1895, Fantômas was in India. There, an unidentified European woman gave birth to a baby girl, Hélène, whose father might have been Fantômas, or an Indian Prince who was Fantômas' acolyte. The girl was raised in South Africa. In 1897, Fantômas was in America and Mexico. There, he ruined his then-business partner, Etienne Rambert. In 1899, he fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa under the name of Gurn. He fought in the Transvaal as an artillery sergeant under the command of Lord Roberts. He became aide-de-camp to Lord Edward Beltham of Scottwell Hill and fell in love with his younger wife, Lady Maud Beltham. Upon their return to Europe, soon before the first novel begins (c. 1900), Gurn and Lady Beltham were surprised in their Paris love nest, Rue Levert, by her husband. Lord Beltham was about to shoot Maud when Gurn hit him with a hammer then strangled him. Fantômas then impersonated Etienne Rambert and framed his son, Charles Rambert, for a murder he had committed. His adversary, Juve, truly obsessed with his capture, exposed Fantômas and turned young Charles Rambert into a journalist, Jerôme Fandor, now working for La Capitale. Lady Beltham remained constantly torn between her passion for the villain and her horror at his criminal schemes. She eventually committed suicide in 1910 after killing the son of one of Fantômas' earlier victims who was seeking revenge. Fandor fell in love with Hélène and, despite Fantômas repeated attempts to break them up, married her. Fantômas' evil son, Vladimir, reappeared in 1911. Vladimir's girl-friend, Firmaine, was murdered by Fantômas and ladimir is shot and killed by Juve in No. 29 just as he was about to shoot Hélène. Fantômas was also tracked by Sherlock Holmes when he came to England. Fantômas was arrested in America by Nick Carter, but escaped and challenged the detective to a game of wits. Both Fantômas and Juve are reputed to have died aboard the Titanic in 1912. Talents Fantômas possesses a genius level intellect and a wide array of skills, which he uses to commit daring crimes. Despite his audacity, he covers his tracks well enough that the general public does not even believe he exists. He is a master of disguise and always operates under an assumed identity, often that of a person whom he has murdered. He would go so far as to make gloves from the skin of a victim's hand to leave their fingerprints behind. He is also an expert with explosives and other instruments of murder and destruction. However, he is a completely ruthless and sadistic sociopath, who enjoys coming up with creative and elaborate ways of killing his victims. Some of his past methods have involved plague-infested rats, giant snakes, and rooms that fill with sand. He has absolutely no sense of loyalty. Category:Pages Category:People Category:Stubs Category:Rogue's Gallery